The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Sep 2021
Permanent pacemaker implantation after cardiac surgery: Optimization of the decision making process.
Conduction disturbances necessitating permanent pacemaker (PPM) implantation after cardiac surgery occur in 1% to 5% of patients. Previous studies have reported a low rate of late PPM dependency, but there is lack of evidence that it might be related to implantation timing. In this study, we sought to determine whether PPM implantation timing and specific conduction disturbances as indications for PPM implantation are associated with late pacemaker dependency and recovery of atrioventricular (AV) conduction. ⋯ We recommend implanting a PPM on postoperative day 7 to prevent unnecessary implantations and avoid prolonged hospitalization.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Sep 2021
Cardiac surgery in North America and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Regional variability in burden and impact.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in an increase in hospital resource utilization and the need to defer nonurgent cardiac surgery procedures. The present study aims to report the regional variations of North American adult cardiac surgical case volume and case mix through the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ The present study demonstrates the impact of COVID-19 on North American cardiac surgery institutions as well as helps associate region and COVID-19 burden with the impact on cardiac surgery volumes and case mix.